Promoting Democracy and Electoral Fairness

Marco Island will be part of a nationwide event intended to promote preserving democracy and fair elections. This event will occur on the one-year anniversary of the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol by protestors bent on disrupting Congress’ certification of the outcome of the last presidential election. 

The public is invited to take part in the January 6, 2022 Vigil for Democracy, to be held at the corner of North Collier Boulevard and Bluebird Avenue. The observation will be a candlelight affair; flashlights if conditions are windy, said Brian McLaren, who is one of the organizers. 

He is an author, speaker, activist, theologian and congregation member at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. The co-organizer for the Marco vigil is Josh Baudin, the director of Christian formation for Wesley United Methodist Church.

“A number of us have been talking over the last several months about how there are people who say the previous election was stolen and who support the attempts to undermine voting rights for the next couple of elections,” explained McLaren. 

By “us,” he was referring to an organization he belongs to, the Auburn Senior Fellows, a multi-faith group of religious leaders around the country. Those discussions culminated in the vigil’s creation. 

“We feel it’s really important to offer some sort of alternative message that there are a lot of us who are really concerned about democracy,” McLaren added. “We don’t want our democracy to be corrupted. We want to base our actions on truth and not propaganda, lies and conspiracy theories.”

Each vigil will be different, with some taking the form of rallies with speakers. On Marco, the observation will be silent with people arrayed along Collier Boulevard, joined by American flags and a few signs. 

“We want to stand in silence so that people driving by will have some curiosity about why there are people standing by the road. And we want to let them know that we’re people who care about democracy. We don’t want violent insurrections to become the norm. We don’t want to be governed by conspiracy theories and misinformation. For folks who pray, we’ll encourage them to, as they stand there, pray for our country and encourage them to deepen their commitment to peace, to nonviolence, to justice, to truth and to the common good.” 

McLaren expressed hope that the approach of the January 6 insurrection will inspire people to pressure Congress to pass legislation that protects voting rights. 

“There was deadly violence on the Capitol that day,” he said. “We feel that there’s an awful lot at stake. That’s why we want people of goodwill, whatever their party, whatever their race, whatever their religion, we want people of goodwill to come together and say, ‘Let’s stand for democracy and let’s stand for fairness and honesty and truth.’”

Marco Island’s observation of the nationwide January 6 Vigil for Democracy will be held from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Participants will first gather at the corner of 1101 North Collier Boulevard and Bluebird Avenue. To sign up and for more information, visit mobilize.us/democracyvigils/event/433022/.